David Oliver: Don’t blame GPs for late cancer diagnoses

Being a GP isn’t easy. Under-resourcing, workforce gaps, the rising complexity and volume of work, and a media narrative too often laden with blame add to the challenges. On 28 June the Daily Telegraph ran a column entitled, “GPs failing to spot two thirds of cancers.”1 The article was more measured than the headline. But readers’ fear and anger are rarely tempered by less conspicuous details. It reported a Cancer Research UK study, which had...